SAS Companion for the OpenVMS Operating Environment

Specifying Data Set Options

Data set options can be specified in parentheses following a data set name. Each option applies only to the SAS data set whose name it follows. RENAME= and KEEP= are examples of SAS data set options.

Some data set options can also be specified as engine or host options in the LIBNAME statement or function.

When one such option appears in a LIBNAME statement or function, it affects all data sets in that SAS data library. If the same option is specified both in the LIBNAME statement or function and after a data set name, the SAS System uses the value given after the data set name. For more information about the LIBNAME statement and about engine or host options, see LIBNAME.

Some SAS data set options have the same effect (and usually the same name) as system or statement options. For example, the BUFSIZE= data set option is analogous to the BUFSIZE= system option. In the case of overlapping options, the SAS System uses the following rules of precedence:

data set option values (highest precedence)
statement option values (precedence over system options)
system option values (precedence over default values)
default values (lowest precedence).

For more information about SAS system options under OpenVMS, see System Options.

Option Syntax

When you specify a data set option, use the following syntax:

data-set-name (option-1 = value-1 option-2 = value-2)

For those options that are valid as engine or host options in the LIBNAME statement or function, use the following syntax:

LIBNAME libref <engine> 'SAS-data-library' option-1=value-1 option-2=value-2 ...;

Remember that not all data set options are valid as engine or host options. Also keep in mind that it is usually better to specify an engine in the LIBNAME statement than to let the SAS System determine which engine to use. This is important when you specify an engine or host option that is supported by two engines (for example, the ALQ= data set option) but which behaves differently in each context.

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